The East Side Animal Shelter admits it gave a dog to a family days after it killed another pet.

"I was on the ground trying to pull my dog away, trying to pull the dog off. I was screaming and crying," neighbor Noel Dannaher said.

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Danner was walking her dog Noah by their southeast Albuquerque apartment Sept. 13, when a pit bull ran across the street and killed her pet.

"He had the dog by the throat and he was thrashing him and throwing him all over the place," Dannaher said.

That pit bull was quarantined at the East Side Shelter, where euthanizing him was an option. However, days later a worker accidentally adopted him out to a family after officials said the employee didn't see notes about the dog in their database.

"An employee made a lapse in judgment and made a mistake," said Rick Deryes, with the city.

The dog is now living with a family at an apartment complex which apparently is right across the street from where the attack happened.

The new owner, Lilliana Tellez, said she knows the dog's history but said he's not dangerous.

"I just want to give him a chance because I know I can do it," said Tellez. "The animal behaves real good around me and my family."

The single mother of five told Action 7 News workers showed up at her home Tuesday asking for the dog but she won't give him up.

"They're breaking my heart and not only mine, they're breaking everyone else's heart in this house because they love him," Tellez said.

The victim and the city worry this animal is capable of attacking again.

The city can't take the dog away from the new owner because it's not her property. Because she's refusing to surrender it, the city could take legal action.